Board unveils six-year secondary road plan

Pulaski County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Monday night on the county’s Six-Year Secondary Road Improvement Plan, but no one from the public chose to speak.
“I think that’s a first,” Supervisor Chairman Joe Sheffey said after no public comment was offered.
Virginia Department of Transportation Resident Engineer David Clarke said no one chose to speak at Montgomery County’s public hearing either.
“There’s not much you can say” when the money isn’t available to address road concerns, he noted.
Sheffey told Clarke it appears road money is dwindling every year.
“Absolutely – drastically so,” Clarke responded. While there was a time when the county would have been working with $1.5 to $2 million, he said the county’s allocation for secondary roads is expected to be about $700,000 for each of the next six years.
Clarke said some projects taken out of the plan in 2002 have yet to be put back into the plan.
Much of the funding available this year is federal dollars, rather than state, Clarke said. He pointed out all of the state funds had to be put toward federal matches in order to avoid losing the federal funds. Only major roads qualify for improvements funded by federal money.
He said Pulaski County is more fortunate than most localities because it already has two qualifying projects in its Six-Year Plan. Other areas are working to find projects that meet the proper qualifications in order to use the federal funds.
Pulaski County’s Draft Six-Year Plan consists of five priority projects, with the first two being the federally funded projects. Those two projects include reconstruction of Lead Mine Road from Route 672 to Route 669; and reconstruction of Julia Simpkins Road from Route 672 to Route 655.
Priorities three through five (in order of priority) are:
• The bridge over Big Reed Island Creek on Farris Mine Road at the Route 800 intersection at Allisonia.
• Grading, stabilizing and paving of Dallas Freeman Road for 1.5 miles south of Route 693.
• Grading, stabilizing and paving of Rock Creek Road from Route 693 to the Carroll County line.
Secondary roads are all county routes numbered 600 and above.
Sheffey told those in attendance at Monday night’s meeting that every road in the county is “a very important road” to the board.
“I dare say some of these projects (on the waiting list for the Six-Year Plan) are going to take 30 to 60 years to complete,” Sheffey said. “I wish we had funds available to do all of these projects.”
Clarke agreed the waiting list is going to be extremely long.
A resolution approving the draft plan is expected to be voted on at the board’s next meeting, Monday, May 18.

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Board unveils six-year secondary road plan

Pulaski County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Monday night on the county’s Six-Year Secondary Road Improvement Plan, but no one from the public chose to speak.
“I think that’s a first,” Supervisor Chairman Joe Sheffey said after no public comment was offered.
Virginia Department of Transportation Resident Engineer David Clarke said no one chose to speak at Montgomery County’s public hearing either.
“There’s not much you can say” when the money isn’t available to address road concerns, he noted.
Sheffey told Clarke it appears road money is dwindling every year.
“Absolutely – drastically so,” Clarke responded. While there was a time when the county would have been working with $1.5 to $2 million, he said the county’s allocation for secondary roads is expected to be about $700,000 for each of the next six years.
Clarke said some projects taken out of the plan in 2002 have yet to be put back into the plan.
Much of the funding available this year is federal dollars, rather than state, Clarke said. He pointed out all of the state funds had to be put toward federal matches in order to avoid losing the federal funds. Only major roads qualify for improvements funded by federal money.
He said Pulaski County is more fortunate than most localities because it already has two qualifying projects in its Six-Year Plan. Other areas are working to find projects that meet the proper qualifications in order to use the federal funds.
Pulaski County’s Draft Six-Year Plan consists of five priority projects, with the first two being the federally funded projects. Those two projects include reconstruction of Lead Mine Road from Route 672 to Route 669; and reconstruction of Julia Simpkins Road from Route 672 to Route 655.
Priorities three through five (in order of priority) are:
• The bridge over Big Reed Island Creek on Farris Mine Road at the Route 800 intersection at Allisonia.
• Grading, stabilizing and paving of Dallas Freeman Road for 1.5 miles south of Route 693.
• Grading, stabilizing and paving of Rock Creek Road from Route 693 to the Carroll County line.
Secondary roads are all county routes numbered 600 and above.
Sheffey told those in attendance at Monday night’s meeting that every road in the county is “a very important road” to the board.
“I dare say some of these projects (on the waiting list for the Six-Year Plan) are going to take 30 to 60 years to complete,” Sheffey said. “I wish we had funds available to do all of these projects.”
Clarke agreed the waiting list is going to be extremely long.
A resolution approving the draft plan is expected to be voted on at the board’s next meeting, Monday, May 18.